Imran provides a Pakistani-Singaporean's perspective on Singapore, Pakistan and other subjects of relevance ... to him.

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Of Mostar and Muslims seeking the grace of the Virgin Mary

I
have had the privilege of visiting Islam’s holiest city Mecca a
couple of times, admittedly as a young boy. I have prayed to holy men
(and women) at mausoleums, including that of Singapore’s
very own holy man Habib Noh. Beyond that, I have made offerings
and given due respect to other deities located inside Hindu, Buddhist
and Chinese temples all around the world.

In
2015, I added a new 'first' to my life. During my Eastern
Europe adventures I climbed a mountain (alright, it was more like
a hill!) to seek the Grace of Virgin Mary! Some
may consider such a trek strange as I am a
'born and bred' Muslim. I don't agree. Islam encourages
exploration, learning and understanding.

The statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of the hill at Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

And
no, it's not that I have become a Christian. It's simply because a
short distance from the historical city of Mostar in
Bosnia-Herzegovina is the pilgrimage site of Medjugorje.

Medjugorje
was an experience but first a little about Mostar.

The
city straddles the Neretva River. As it straddles the river, it also
occupies the space where Islam and Christianity meet. The Bosnian
city has a mix of Muslims, Catholics and Serb
Orthodox among its population of about 100,000. During the civil
war which engulfed the former Yugoslav Republic in the early 1990s
this ethnic mix proved to be a deadly tinderbox.

Indeed,
Mostar was the scene of heavy fighting between Catholic Croats and
Muslim Bosniaks during 1992-95. Even Mostar's most famous structure,
the Stari Most or Old Bridge, built in 1556 by the
Ottoman Turks was not spared the fighting. The bridge was
willfully destroyed by Croatian forces in November 1993. The bridge
was reconstructed in 2004 and inscribed as a UNESCO
World Heritage site the following year.

Mostar
is also blessed with natural beauty. Mountains, rivers and forested
areas along with hospitable people are all nestled in one compact,
medieval town. But it was Medjugorje's Virgin Mary who was the star
attraction. Those familiar with Islam know the Virgin Mary is a
blessed woman for Muslims too.

The
Virgin Mary is the only woman mentioned by name in Islam's holy book,
the Koran. Indeed, she is one of only eight humans who have a sura
(chapter) named after them in the Koran. As if to emphasize Islam's
belief of Mary being the most righteous of women, she is mentioned
more often in the Koran than in the entire New Testament!

Thus,
making the trip to the small town of Medjugorje about to witness the
alleged miracle of Our Lady of Medjugorje was high on the agenda. The
town is located about 25 kilometers southwest of Mostar.

The
story begins in 1981, during a time Yugoslavia still respected Tito's
memory, when six local children claimed to have seen visions of
the Virgin Mary. Over time, the fame of the allaged apparitions
spread amongst the Catholics and the town of about 2,000 started
receiving pilgrimages from all over the world, Singapore included.
Since 1981, over 30 million Catholics have visited the pilgrimage
site – and that despite the negative official position of the
Vatican bureaucracy on the Medjugorje apparitions.

Having
climbed the hill on a rainy day in order to meet the Virgin Mary and
immersed myself among Christian pilgrims, I felt a more complete
Muslim. After all, the
Islam with which I am familiar encourages tolerance and
understanding – ideals lost to the adventure seeking extremist
killers raised on a diet of violent video games and social
despondency.

Mostar
has a history all of its own. If Sarajevo fought Orthodox Christian
Serbs for survival, Mostar fought Catholic Croats for its existence.
Though, like Sarajevo, Mostar is fighting hard to maintain its
pre-civil war mix of a religiously diverse population. For travelers,
the medieval town is a blissful combination of nature, food and
history.

No
visit to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the country's
official name - is complete without experiencing Bosnia and
Herzegovina individually. If Sarajevo
is Bosnia then Mostar is Herzegovina.

__________________

Imran
is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and
history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries in his
career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by
train, to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest
in photography. Imran can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com.
Follow Imran on twitter at @grandmoofti and Instragram at
imranahmedsg.

1 comment:

As-Salamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh... Brother... Praying to someone is shirk... Maybe what you meant was you ask holy people to pray for you... It is fine to go to holy people, dead or alive, and ask them to pray for you and out of your love for them and out of Allah's love for them, Allah will answer your prayers... InsyaAllah... I apologize if I were to say anything wrong...

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